The Shutdown Was Always Kabuki Theater to Elevate the UniParty Swamp Against America

(Substack)—The Schumer Shutdown is over and many on the right are claiming complete and total victory. A vote was promised on Obamacare subsidies in December, which Republicans had alluded to offering before the shutdown began. It would seem that Democrats got nothing out of this.

In reality, they got what they really wanted. And when I say “they,” I’m not just referring to the Democrats. It’s about the UniParty Swamp, which includes many members of the Senate’s GOP Establishment. The illusions of prolonging the shutdown for the sake of Obamacare subsidies for Democrats or protecting cuts in the Big, Beautiful Bill for Republicans were all political theater.

Those who are not in the conspiracy theory world may want to put this article down for now. Perhaps you can bookmark it and come back if you become more skeptical of the DC system. But I’m going to make what some may consider to be bold and even crazy accusations that don’t fit the right-vs-left, republican-vs-democrat paradigm. To know whether this is too strange for you, ask yourself if you’re willing to stipulate four things:

• The UniParty Swamp doesn’t want President Trump to succeed. Sure, Republican members of the Swamp publicly support the MAGA agenda but behind closed doors the likes of John Thune, John Cornyn, and Lindsey Graham hate MAGA.
• The UniParty Swamp sees American citizens as sheep to be herded to do their bidding. They don’t care about who they hurt. Seriously. They only care about their careers before and after their time in DC. Some are willing participants in these schemes but many are simply compromised. This is how DC works.
• The Powers and Principalities decreed this shutdown. If you’re not a Bible-believing Christian, then you can refer to these powers-that-be as the New World Order or the Globalist Elite Cabal. Depending on your worldview, they’re one in the same.
• This was always going to be an extended shutdown. That was planned from the beginning.

If you can accept these four stipulations as at least potentially true, then read on. If you need further evidence that this wasn’t just an extended impasse that was resolved through careful negotiations with a handful of thoughtful Democrats, keep something in mind that I posted on X:

How many of the Democrats who sided with Republicans to end the shutdown are up for reelection in 2026?

Zero.

If you don’t realize that this was planned by the UniParty Swamp all along, you probably think Kabuki Theater is real life.

There were three major goals from this shutdown, and all three goals have been achieved.

Financial Harm to America and Americans

First and foremost, they’ve done damage to the U.S. economy and to the finances of millions of Americans. They would never admit that this was one of their goals, of course, but it has been from the start. The Trump economy was doing very well leading up to the shutdown. The powers-that-be needed a speedbump to slow the momentum. Now, some estimates put the hit to GDP around 1.5%.

For those who may not realize, that is gargantuan. And while we’re likely to see it bounce back some with the shutdown over, the damage has been done.

As for American citizens affected by the shutdown, the damage has been immeasurable. In our conservative echo chambers, some might think that Americans generally blame Democrats. In the left’s echo chambers, they likely think Americans blame Republicans. It doesn’t really matter who Americans blame. The fact that members of the UniParty Swamp care more about who is blamed than who is harmed is a sad testament to our broken political system.

The Leftward Lurch of Democrats

The second reason the powers-that-be wanted this shutdown was to reshuffle Democrat Party leadership and Democrat voter sentiment. Voters in both parties are easy to manipulate but Democrats are marginally easier. The election of President Trump and the rise of populism within the MAGA movement had been making Democrat voters rethink their leftward shift. DEI has been dying. Wokism in general has been fading. Even climate change cultists have been quieted.

The shutdown and the subsequent opening of the government pulled the base back to the left. Expect radicalism to be bolstered in 2026, just in time for midterm elections.

Nancy Pelosi is retiring. Chuck Schumer was getting hammered even before the final cloture vote was cast Sunday night. Zohran Mamdani won decisively and radical candidates across the country are surging. Any notion that sensibility will be brought back to the Democrat Party was destroyed by the shutdown.

What about Republicans, you might ask? That reshuffle is very different. We’re seeing it manifest in the divide that’s happening over Israel. That is a topic that must get an article (or two, or ten) of its own so I won’t even touch the details here but those who know… know.

Pouring Gasoline on the Fire

The third reason this shutdown happened exactly as it did was to flare up tensions ahead of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and 2026. They need us at each other’s throats. They need us pointing fingers and laying blame and getting angry and even turning more violent. That last part, violence, has been generally focused on the left, but it’s realistic to think some on the right will reach a breaking point soon. And if they don’t, there are always false flags the Deep State can deploy for effect.

The biggest threat to the machinations of the powers-that-be is for Americans to be partially unified. They want us focused on right-vs-left so we don’t focus on us-vs-them.

Path Forward

Now is a time for discernment, perhaps more so than any time in modern history. We are under siege. Most are being herded in a very dangerous direction and even those of us who understand what’s happening are getting pulled by the current.

Considering the state of affairs, it behooves most of us to continue to side with the political right. I still support President Trump and the America First agenda wholeheartedly, but I do so through the clear lens that even many Republican initiatives will be used to herd us in certain directions. There is no easy solution from a political or cultural perspective. Thankfully, there’s a very attainable and personal solution through salvation given to us based on our belief in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.

The path our nation and the world are traveling is extraordinarily dark, which can make it terrifying for those who get a glimpse of what’s going on. This is why believing the truth of the Bible today is the ultimate recourse. Without it, some will either go along as sheep or live fearfully of the world collapsing around us. But with eternity secured through grace, we have nothing to fear in this life.

Stay frosty. Watch your six. The shutdown was a tremendous victory for the powers-that-be. Their missions were accomplished and we’re weaker as a nation as a result. But as we venture into 2026, we know two things. First, it’s about to get crazy. Second, we have the truth on our side. Now is the time to put on the full armor of God… and keep it on until the end.